To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the running costs were of the Natural England office in Crewe in the last 12 months; how many staff at each grade Natural England employs at that office; and how long the lease for that office has left to run. (314179)

Natural England occupies 32 per cent. of the DEFRA office building in Electra Way, Crewe. DEFRA has a ground lease on the building which will expire in July 2048.

Natural England's running costs (which are recharged to Natural England by DEFRA) for the 12 months to December 2009 were £629,000. They include rent, rates and utilities.

The 103 Natural England staff working at this office comprise:

In addition Natural England currently has 14 temporary staff in the building.

Natural England is an integrated organisation covering the whole of England. The Natural England staff working in the Crewe office (and most other offices) comprise a mixture of the regional team and the national delivery teams. Managers and team leaders working from the Crewe office will therefore also manage a number of staff who are home based or work from different offices.